I'm glad you wrote this and stickied it, I see the question asked a lot as it relates to specific prospects.

Nice job with the examples, too. You may want to add something about CHL players being able to join an AHL team after their junior season is over.

re. European players...The way you described it in relation to where they were playing when they were drafted was the way I understood the rule. If drafted out of the CHL, the rule applies; if started playing in the CHL after they were drafted, it does not.

I was told this year that it related to whether the player is classified as an import player in the CHL, but I always understood the rule the way you described it. It would be great to get 100% understanding of that portion of the rule, as well.

And I have seen a few people write that the AHL does not allow players until they are 19, but as you note, there have been a few European players in the AHL at 18.

Tlusty is another example from last season (as someone pointed out to me on another thread) although he went from the AHL back to the OHL, he did play in the AHL in 2006-07.

Chris Bourque and Jonathan Sigalet are recent examples of college players that left college and played in the AHL at 19 (both played in the AHL as 19 yos in the 05-06 season).